SHARE ON: |
| |
| |
 |
 |
|
|
A Texas nurse was convicted Tuesday of capital murder in the deaths of four patients who died after prosecutors say he injected them with air following heart surgeries.
The Smith County jury deliberated for about an hour before finding William George Davis, of Hallsville, guilty of capital murder involving multiple victims. Prosecutors planned to seek the death penalty during the sentencing phase, which was scheduled to start Wednesday.
Davis, 37, was accused of injecting air into the four patients arteries after they underwent heart surgery at the Christus Trinity Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler in 2017 and 2018. During recovery from their surgeries, the four -- John Lafferty, Ronald Clark, Christopher Greenway and Joseph Kalina -- suffered unexplained neurological problems and died.
During the trial, Dr. William Yarbrough, a Dallas-area pulmonologist and professor of internal medicine, explained to the jury how injecting air into the arterial system of the brain causes brain injury and death.
Yarbrough said he was able to determine there was air in the arterial system of the victims brains by viewing images from brain scans -- something he said he had never before observed in his decades in medicine.
He ruled out blood pressure problems or any other causes of death besides the injection of air, and said it must have happened after the surgeries because the complications occurred while the patients were in recovery.
Defense attorney Phillip Hayes told the jury that the hospital had issues and that Davis was a scapegoat who was only charged because he was there when the deaths occurred.
Prosecutor Chris Gatewood said during closing arguments that Davis liked to kill people. And prosecutor Jacob Putman said the hospital hadnt changed any of its procedures and hadnt had any similar incidents since Davis left.
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
1 am |
| 11 ℃ |
| FEW CLOUDS |
WIND: E 15 KM/H
GUSTING TO 34 KM/H |
|
|
|
2 am |
| 10 ℃ |
| FEW CLOUDS |
WIND: ESE 15 KM/H
GUSTING TO 35 KM/H |
|
|
|
3 am |
| 10 ℃ |
| FEW CLOUDS |
WIND: E 15 KM/H
GUSTING TO 38 KM/H |
|
|
 |
4 am |
| 10 ℃ |
| SCATTERED CLOUDS |
WIND: E 21 KM/H
GUSTING TO 46 KM/H |
|
|
|
5 am |
| 9 ℃ |
| SCATTERED CLOUDS |
WIND: ESE 13 KM/H
GUSTING TO 33 KM/H |
|
|
 |
6 am |
| 8 ℃ |
| BROKEN CLOUDS |
WIND: ESE 22 KM/H
GUSTING TO 47 KM/H |
|
|
|
7 am |
| 10 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
WIND: ESE 23 KM/H
GUSTING TO 51 KM/H |
|
|
|
8 am |
| 10 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
WIND: ESE 24 KM/H
GUSTING TO 53 KM/H |
|
|
|
|
TODAY |
HIGH OF 23 ℃
LOW OF 8 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
|
|
 |
THURSDAY |
HIGH OF 10 ℃
LOW OF -4 ℃ |
| RAIN AND SNOW |
|
|
|
FRIDAY |
HIGH OF -4 ℃
LOW OF -6 ℃ |
| SNOW |
|
|
|
SATURDAY |
HIGH OF -2 ℃
LOW OF -5 ℃ |
| LIGHT SNOW |
|
|
|
SUNDAY |
HIGH OF -1 ℃
LOW OF -8 ℃ |
| LIGHT SNOW |
|
|
 |
MONDAY |
HIGH OF 0 ℃
LOW OF -9 ℃ |
| SCATTERED CLOUDS |
|
|
 |
TUESDAY |
HIGH OF 3 ℃
LOW OF -6 ℃ |
| FEW CLOUDS |
|
|
 |
WEDNESDAY |
HIGH OF 11 ℃
LOW OF 1 ℃ |
| LIGHT RAIN |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
MITCHELL TENPENNY
ALWAYS SOMETHING WITH YOU
01:10 AM |
|
 |
CASSADEE POPE
IVE BEEN GOOD
01:06 AM |
|
 |
BROTHERS OSBORNE
BREAK MINE
01:02 AM |
|
 |
PETRIC
THE BEST
12:57 AM |
|
 |
DIERKS BENTLEY
COLD BEER CAN
12:55 AM |
|
 |
BRANTLEY GILBERT
DIRTY MONEY
12:50 AM |
|
 |
OLD DOMINION
COMING HOME
12:48 AM |
|
 |
MADELINE MERLO
ONE HOUSE DOWN
12:42 AM |
|
 |
PARMALEE
CAROLINA
12:39 AM |
|
 |
ELI YOUNG BAND
NOTHING ON THE WILD
12:36 AM |
|
 
 |
